Restoring the condor?

After a century's absence, there's a move afoot by the Yurok Tribe to possibly reintroduce the endangered California condor to the North Coast.

It's no stranger to this area -- Yurok tribal lore references the great-winged bird, and it remains culturally significant. So, on the surface, the effort would an ideal fit.

Of course, there are hurdles to be overcome. Studies must be undertaken, and the area sized up for its suitability to host a future resurgent condor population.

But it's hard to imagine a more suitable location -- a virtually pristine environment where the grand scale of the forests and rivers would offer a picturesque background for the eventual recovery of North America's largest flying bird.

It's already a story to inspire. The breed has managed to bounce back from a nadir population of less than 10 to a more hopeful -- though still scant -- number of around 170.

We encourage the tribe to pursue the effort with all due diligence. If and when it appears such a restoration is feasible, and that the birds could eventually survive and thrive here on their own, then we'd heartily urge the tribe and the state to follow through with the repatriation.

While regaining a species that called the North Coast its home for more than 10,000 years won't make up for the behavior and disregard that brought the condor to the threshold of extinction, it would perhaps represent a small step toward reclaiming a bit of the wild we've all lost in the past few generations.